Comments on: Premier League goes global: Well, what did you expect?

By: Mark Meadows

Mark Meadows — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:59:13 +0000

The best idea is that the charity shield or FA cup semis are played abroad. They are competitive but dont add to the fixture list and would have been played on neutral english grounds anyway ( the fa cup final would be a step too far though..)
Of course the Premier League would never agree to that plan because only the big sides get to the charity shield and the cup semis so the other clubs would miss out on revenue they think they’ll get from a 39th game each.

By: Five Times

Five Times — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:19:50 +0000

Please don’t shut the doors and spare a thought for the millions of foreign supporters, a good majority of which are as hardcore as local English supporters. If the EPL isn’t globalised, where am I going to get my fix of quality football matches to watch on the telly??

I’m very happy on where the EPL has come to currently and do not look back fondly on the past when I had to listen to BBC radio for the latest news on Liverpool.

Yes, the above-mentioned negative points are true and relevant but do consider that there are more positives which outweigh those negatives and spare a thought for your poorer cousins-in-support who as pathetic as it sounds, can only dream of watching an EPL match live in a stadium.

By: OT… NEWS FROM ANOTHER BLOG - NEWS from another blog - The Offside - Toronto FC MLS Soccer Blog

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 20:57:33 +0000

[...] about ‘franchises’ and the ’selling of the soul’ of the English game (see the post by Mitch Phillips below as a response to [...]

By: gerry

gerry — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:06:08 +0000

Time for some fan power. Since it is won’t work without television, if it goes ahead everyone should boycott the coverage. No audience for Sky equals nobody to advertise to. So come the second year advertising income will dry up and Sky will have wasted millions buying the coverage. I am sure it would be possible, after all, it is only for one game.

By: What’s English about it anyway? - Reuters Soccer Blog

What’s English about it anyway? - Reuters Soccer Blog — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:40:59 +0000

[...] raging about ‘franchises’ and the ’selling of the soul’ of the English game (see the post by Mitch Phillips below as a response to [...]

By: Simon Baskett

Simon Baskett — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:18:28 +0000

What I can´t believe is that “prawn sandwich brigade” Roy Keane is in favour of this move.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football /eng_prem/7234304.stm

By: Barry Hayles is the messiah

Barry Hayles is the messiah — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:56:11 +0000

Who wants to watch Premier League anyway? The Blue Square Premier is where it’s at. Most teams are full-time now, with the likes of Stevenage, now managed by Peter Taylor, and Aldershot showing fading former league teams Torquay and Oxford how proper football should be played. And all for at least a quarter of the price you would pay to be ripped off at Arsenal or Chelsea.

By: warren

warren — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:52:04 +0000

I agree, the perfect fan for a Premier League club is one who comes a couple of times a season, spends a fortune in the Megastore, subscribes to the TV text and email service and has club credit card, then moves out of the way for the next mug.

By: Kevin Fylan

Kevin Fylan — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:34:03 +0000

There may be a tipping point among some fans, but there will be millions more who will continue to pay the high prices for tickets, TV and merchandising.
In any case, it’s doubtful whether the biggest clubs even want their traditional fans any more. Fans like that don’t spend money in the club shop.

By: Padraic Halpin

Padraic Halpin — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:34:01 +0000

Very much agree. This latest move is just plain wrong but so has anything associated with the so-called “globalisation” of English football since the old first division went Premier.

Surely there’s got to be a tipping point where fans start getting turned off by all this blatant greed? No?